Over time writing has changed in presentation and word choice. Original forms of writing consisted on cave walls then slowly evolved to writing on scrolls. The earliest form of a book, the codex, contained writing on a page left to right with no images. Images were first seen in writing during medieval times, which has evolved into combining image and text in books, stories and documents. The materiality of writing has changed numerous times and with it, writing itself. What was once a stoic and unchanging idea, writing has transformed into something that’s easily accessed and changed. Writing has not deteriorated or gotten worse over time but instead modified with society and its needs.
The way writing has been presented has gone from solely on a page, to images and text viewed simultaneously on a screen. The layout of writing was basic, simple and easy to understand. There were words and no images, and the format stayed the same. This has evolved to images and text working together to form an idea. Verbal and visual arguments are very different in their presentation, but they work towards the same goal. These arguments can be seen more or less powerful depending on the objective. When trying to describe a color, it is best to show the reader that color rather then tell it. In my “Blue” presentation I was able to create an argument solely of the use of an image. Just like text, images must be ordered and fixed the right way to produce a quality argument. Writers have seen through picture books and other medieval writing, that visuals can create an argument. Nowadays, images are used in almost everything to help describe, decipher and explain topics. They are being used as more then something to look at but something to help persuade. Videos are also being shown to help discover a certain point. People learn in many different ways, some visual, some by reading, some by hearing; these methods are being exploited by writers today. One can argue that writing has improved because it suits all types of learners. eBooks and online encyclopedias draw from all sorts of multimedia to explain a topic effectively. With the internet, these videos, images and texts can be easily and quickly accessed. Instead of flipping through pages, one can scroll down on a screen and simultaneously glance at images and text. This gives the reader full control over where he or she wants to go.
The ancient papyrus roll allowed the reader to follow just one path down the page and end when the writing did not continue. With the codex and ancient book, and index can be used to pick through where the reader wishes to start and end. Both of these methods of selective reading are contained within the pages of a book. What if the reader could control his or her own destiny with infinite possibilities? These infinite possibilities the reader can access is what Bolter refers to as “hypertext”. While on the computer, a topic or idea can be clicked by the reader leading them to learn specifically about that thing. This has allowed writing to no longer be linear; it can go in which ever way it pleases. The reader now has complete control over where they wish to start and finish when researching a topic. As Bolter says, “Each topic may participate in several paths, and its significance will depend on which paths the reader has traveled in order to arrive at that topic” (Bolter 35). At the end of their presentation on Chapter 3, Rita, Jenna and Hannah posed an assignment for the class; start with the word “cat” on Wikipedia and see how many clicks it takes to end at the word, “machine”. This project showed how massive and infinite the internet and hypertext can take you. It also portrayed how close words can be related even though having completely different definitions. Encyclopedias were originally organized alphabetically in printed text. With the invention of hypertext and organizing Encyclopedias by topics, readers have much more control over their own destiny.
The writing space that a writer has to work with has changed from a single-minded path to a collaborative work. When reading a book from printed text, the reader has no say or response when finished. What is written on the page is unchangeable and the reader moves on keeping their opinions to themselves. This is because writing used to be a special skill that only scholars knew how to do. Instead of being a shared ability, writing was only for those with high educations and wealth. This left the room for response very minimal. Books were also very hard to achieve, because there was no printing machine that produced tons of pages a day, readers were forced to find their own documents. As a result, fewer products were being read and scrutinized. Now, the writing space is a mutual territory for both the reader and writer. With online blogs, bloggers can respond and put out their opinions to the writer. This allows for writing to be very collaborative. Since so many more people are able to write and explain their own ideas, feedback is occurring with everything written. Websites like Facebook or Twitter allow writer and reader to act as one. Communication has changed tremendously and is something that can occur between two people instantly. Writing, in effect, has become much more global and worldwide. People all over the world are voicing their opinions and views with writing. Facebook, Twitter and blogs also allow users to communicate with images and videos. Since these are as popular as text to argue a point, websites are making it easy for people to converse in any way possible. Bolter argues that, “With any technique of writing- on stone or clay, on papyrus or paper, and on the computer screen- the writer may come to regard the mind itself as a writing space” (Bolter 13). Bolter explains how the presentation is irrelevant for a writer. How the real writing space is the mind of the reader.
With the accessibility of writing increasing, the informality of writing has also grown. Since websites allow users to communicate back and forth quickly, colloquial writing has formed. When writing was just known by those with education and stature, formal writing and grammar was the only form. With more people being in access to these inscriptions, different opinions and words have been created. The turn and trend to write more colloquially is not a bad thing but a natural change. With the fast-paced society that surrounds the 21st century, quick text is necessary. With schools discouraging informal writing, blogs and websites, like Facebook, encourage it. It has become essential to understand both forms of the language because of the guidelines set forth by society that encompasses these varieties.
With readers controlling their own paths in which they understand information, what is being read has changed tremendously. When books and scripts were not as accessible, the reader had little choice in what they were going to read. Now that people can go in any direction on the internet, scholarly subjects are being less noticed. Bolter describes in Writing Space, “In this century American encyclopedias have cut out scholarly subjects in favor of articles of popular interest in order to maintain the largest possible readership” (Bolter 90). Since readers are deciding what they view, writers must do the same in what they write. Before, writers had the choice to write about whatever they wanted because it was the only material printed. Now, writers must adapt and follow society’s wants and needs. The relationship between writer and reader has changed so that the reader controls the writer and what he or she produces. Although the popular sources may be highlighted, the World Wide Web is so vast and widespread that even less noticed scholarly subjects are available. Encyclopedias now shine light on subjects that are of most interest. While original Encyclopedias focused on subjects and ideas that were known by writers, not by interest of readers.
It is apparent that original forms of writing differed greatly from how words are written today. Papyrus scrolls and codex have turned into blog posts and online encyclopedias. The presentation of this writing originated with words only, the use of image or video was not accessed. Since the middle ages, images have been used alongside text to help prove a point. Sometimes a visual argument is more powerful and persuasive then a verbal one. Images and videos have also become methods of learning. Online encyclopedias, books and documents offer different ways to view the material presented. Hypertext has allowed the viewer to control his or her own path and jump from idea to idea without being confined within a page. Blogs, and other online websites designed for communication, allow the reader to voice his or her opinions, which 100 years ago was not possible. Although, with these websites informal writing has become more natural and more used. With society in full control over what is being written, a textual world consists of reader and writer collaborating together to create full thoughts, and as these ideas have changed before, they will continue to do so
